Shiv Sena, BJP spar over farm loan waiver decision

Allies-turned rivals, the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), have now got into a spat over the farm loan waiver announced by chief minister (CM) Uddhav

Allies-turned rivals, the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), have now got into a spat over the farm loan waiver announced by chief minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday.  While the Sena, through its party mouthpiece Saamana appreciated Thackeray’s decision and slammed the BJP for raking up “emotional issues” like the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) instead of addressing farmers’ crises, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis accused the state of misleading farmers.

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In an editorial in Saamana, the Sena on Monday heaped praise on Thackeray for his decision to waive farm loans up to ₹2 lakh. “This is the first step taken by Uddhav Thackeray to provide relief to farmers…more than 90% farmers will benefit…The BJP on the other hand is busy taking out morchas on CAA and trying to create a law-and-order problem,” read the editorial. It also pointed out how the BJP government failed to provide relief to farmers as the loan waiver declared by it faced implementation problems owing to an online system.

In the editorial, the Sena also taunted Union minister Nitin Gadkari for his statement on Sunday, wherein he had questioned whether it is a crime to be a Hindu. “Majority of the farmers are Hindus and their problem of livelihood will not be solved by raking up an emotional issue,” the editorial added.

The article pointed out that unlike the previous Fadnavis-led government’s loan waiver scheme, this waiver was without any terms and conditions and was part of the Sena’s commitment to the welfare of farmers. “At a time when the country is burning owing to the CAA issue, Uddhav Thackeray, within 15 days of assuming power, took such a bold decision to lessen the burden of farmers who are facing unprecedented crises,” said the editorial.

The BJP, on the other hand, accused the Thackeray-led government of betraying farmers by misleading them on loan waiver issue. “This government was itself created on deceit and now it has only deceived the farmers,” said Fadnavis.

The former CM also demanded that the Thackeray-led government give aid of ₹25,000 per hectare to cultivators for crop damage. “The jugglery of the loan waiver scheme is that loans that have been declared outstanding till September 2019 will be waived, which means all these loans will be from previous years,” the leader of Opposition in the state Assembly said. He added that his government had already written off loans of up to ₹1.5 lakh, so the waiver announced by Thackeray did not add much.

He also said farmers from Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara, who have already been severely affected by unseasonal rain in October, had been “left in the lurch” by the new Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government. “Crops on around 94 lakh hectares were damaged owing to floods in the region and farmers faced 100% losses. The CM promised aid of ₹25,000 per hectare to affected farmers, but nothing was given to them in this (Winter) session,” Fadnavis said.

He added that the BJP would hold protests on various issues concerning the people and the party’s state unit chief Chandrakant Patil will soon announce the programme. After initially supporting the CAA in the Lok Sabha, the Sena has backtracked by abstaining in the Rajya Sabha. Thackeray has compared the crackdown on protesting students to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and criticised the Centre.